


This is Not a Love Story

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Falling Skies
Genre: Angst, Heartbreak, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-07 01:03:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4243545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is not a love story, just a story about two people in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is Not a Love Story

**This is the story of two people in love.  This is a story about love, about two people brought together in war, but this is not a love story.**

            Tom loves Cochise.  It wasn’t quite love at first sight, but there was admiration, small doses of trust, and an easy humor with each other from the beginning.  After spending hours together, sharing secrets that were both tactical and personal, it grew.  And, even though he knows it’s stupid for so many reasons, he loves Cochise.

            Cochise loves Tom.  It was hard to identify at first.  It was not something that Cochise ever expected to experience, and to have such an experience evoked by an alien was inconceivable.  Yet, Cochise finds himself worrying over Tom’s physical and emotional wellbeing.  Finds himself thinking about Tom when he is not around.  It takes time, but Cochise concludes that this is love.  That he loves Tom.

**So.  Two people in love with each other.   Two caring people with so many ways to express love.**

            Tom finds himself touching Cochise’s arm whenever he can find an excuse.  Gentle caresses paired with shy smiles to show how much he cares.  He asks questions about Cochise’s people, beyond military necessity, because Tom figures that the best way to show he cares is to show his interest.  He finds Earth things that he think will amuse Cochise and he brings them to him.  As many tiny little gestures of love that he can express.

            Cochise smiles, wide, at every touch and question.  He has a plethora of questions of his own, and listens to all of Tom’s explanations, no matter how tangential his explanations become.  They are truly fascinating, and Tom is enchanting when he talks.  Cochise also keeps track of Tom’s food intake and how often he rests, and he ensures that their meetings do not last too late into Tom’s rest cycle.  This is the surest way to know he shows he loves.

**Two people in love, with many ways to express that love, who never quite come around to telling each other in a way comprehensible to each other.**

            Why would Tom?  The Volm clearly don’t do love or overt affection; Cochise confirmed that for Tom one afternoon when he had asked about modern day Volm dating.  The Earth needs Cochise to be comfortable on it far more than Tom needs to make a fool of himself.

            How could Cochise?  The Volm do not have the words to express what he feels.  Humans do, but Cochise is not certain how to use them. 

            Tom’s not bitter about getting his heart broken by Cochise.  It’s happened before and he’s an adult.  Plus, he had known from the start that Cochise was a long shot.  He’ll be okay.

            Cochise does not understand.  He attempted to demonstrate his affection for Tom, but he did not know how to do so effectively.  He even attempted traditional Volm courtship: leaving him traditional Volm fertility cake in his room.  Tom did not respond.

**This is the story of two people in love who never quite make the connection.  Two people in love who never discover their love is reciprocated.**

            Tom moves on.  He and Anne give their relationship another shot, and this time it sticks.  A few months later they’re ridiculously, deliriously in love.

            Cochise watches Tom and his mate.  It is painful to witness.  Part of him had been certain that Tom returned his feelings, but perhaps that had been a dangerous delusion. 

            Things between them always feel kind of weird for Tom after he moves on.  His friend seems distressed, but Tom doesn’t know why, and part of him always wonders ‘what if.’ 

            Things between them always feel somewhat sad for Cochise after Tom takes a mate.  Doctor Glass is better suited to be Tom’s mate than Cochise is, he knows, but there is no one for Cochise to move on to.  No mate better suited to Cochise than Tom.  It is unfortunate.

            **This is now the story of one person in love with someone in love with someone else.  Probably the oldest story in the world.**

            Tom gets married, eventually.  When he does, Shaq interrupts the ceremony and he sees Cochise watching from the distance.  It’s weird because he would have thought that Cochise would have come to the actual ceremony.  He would have been welcome, of course; he’s one of Tom’s dearest friends.  Tom never mentions it, and neither does Cochise.

            Cochise watches Tom get married.  Shak-Chic attempts to interrupt the ceremony, even after Cochise orders him not to.  It does not change anything, nor does it stop Shak-Chic’s constant judgment over Cochise’s affection for Tom, but Cochise appreciates it anyway.  It has often been difficult for Cochise to grasp many human idioms, but for the first time, Cochise understands one with perfect clarity: the broken heart. 

            Tom continues to consider Cochise one of his closest friends and confidants all the way to the end of the war.  Over the years, he’s proven himself brave, trustworthy, and insightful.  He still asks about Cochise’s people, still touches him friendlily.  Without Cochise, they never would have been able to win this war.  Not the Volm at large: Cochise.

            Cochise continues to love Tom.  He would never risk Tom’s happiness by informing him about his continued feelings, even though after years on Earth, Cochise now believes he has the language to do so.  That does not mean that Cochise ceases to care for him- to watch over his offspring, to ensure he has food and rest, to listen to his tangential explanations.  It is imperative that Tom survives this war, not for the sake of the war effort, but for Cochise’s sake.

            **What brings two people together can force them apart, making sure that they never have the chance to admit how they feel.**

            “Are you sure you can’t stay?” Tom asks when the war is over and Cochise is standing back at the base of his spaceship preparing to leave.

            “I am Volm, Tom,” Cochise says.  “I must go where I am ordered.”

            Tom presses his lips together.  “I’m going to worry about you, you know.”

            “That is most kind of you,” Cochise says, squeezing his arm.  “I will worry about you as well.”

            “I’m not going to be going into battle, Cochise,” Tom says, looking away.  He sighs and looks back up at Cochise.  “You’ll be right back in the thick of things.”

            “You will still face many challenges here,” Cochise says, “and while I am certain that you will face them admirably, I cannot help but worry.  You have been a great comrade.”

            “You’ve been a great friend,” Tom says, hugging him tightly.  “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”

            Cochise hugs him back, pressing his cheek against Tom’s hair.  He loves Tom’s warmth and his easy affection.  “I am certain that, in time, you will forget about me.”

            “Never,” Tom says, pulling back just far enough to look up at him.  “No matter how long I live, I’ll never forget you.  I’ll make sure you become part of our people’s history.  I promise.”

            Cochise believes that is one of the highest compliments Tom could give.  “I am honored, Tom.  Thank you.  And thank you for everything that you have done for me.”

            “Me?” Tom asks, raising an eyebrow.  “You’re the one who saved us.”

            “You have done much for me and I am grateful,” Cochise says.  He does not say what that has involved. 

            “If you say so,” Tom says.

            “I do.  You are unlike anyone that I have ever met on any world I have ever been on,” Cochise says, hugging him close again.  This will be the last time he will be this close to anyone, emotionally.  He will, of course, eventually reproduce.  “Goodbye, Tom.”

            “Goodbye, my friend,” Tom says.  “If you’re ever in the area, you can always stop by.”

            “I will not be in this area again,” Cochise says.  “I am sorry.”

            “I figured,” Tom says, “but I thought I should try anyway.”

            “Thank you,” Cochise says.  He presses his lips quickly to Tom’s cheek, as he has seen humans do platonically many times.

            Tom presses his hand to his cheek, looking up at Cochise in confusion as he retreats into his ship.

            Cochise watches out the viewport until Tom is too small to see; Tom watches from the ground until he can’t see the Volm ship anymore.

            **This is the story of two people in love.  But this has never been a love story.  This is just another story of two people who don’t quite make it.  They will never see each other again, but they will think of each other often and they will always wonder.**


End file.
